Adjustable gage mechanism.



W. M. BOENNING.

ADJUSTABLE GAGE MBGHANISM..

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4,1914.

Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

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THE NDRRIS `PETERS Co.. PHOTG-LITHO., WASHINGTON. D, C.

WILLIAM M. IBOIElll'lWIlTG,l OF MANIT'OWOC, WISCONSIN.

ADJUSTABLE GAGE MECHANIS-IVI.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented aan. 19,1915.

Application filed May 4, 1914. Serial No.l 836,330.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, 'WILLiAM M. Bonn- NING, a`citizen of the United States, and resident of Manitowoc, in the countyof Manitowoc and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Adjustable Gage Mechanism; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof.

rlhe primary object of .my invention is to provide a simple, effectiveand accurate ad justable gage mechanism adapted to co-act witha step bystep movable carriage.

The invention is particularly designed as an attachment to a buttonholestitching machine of any type and, when so applied, it serves as a gagewhereby the distance between the first and last buttonhole'of a seriesis divided into a predetermined number of equal parts corresponding tothe number of buttonholes requiredand, with this in view, the attachmentis adapted to feed the goods to be operated upon step by step to analined point under the needle of the machine.

The construction and arrangement of the gage is such that a series oflink-connected stops are simultaneously spread apart -or contractedequal distances with relationjto each other and locked in their selectedpositions to conform to the spaces between the buttonholes to be workedupon a garment. These stops control the step by step feed of a slid: blegripping carriage, which carriage clutches one end of a length ofmaterial having the first and last buttonhole indicated thereon. Thefree end of the material is then confined by a suitable presser-foot insuch position that the marked point for the first buttonhole is alinedunder the machine needle. The material isthen gripped at the point ofthe last buttonhole by jaws of the carriage and, for example, should itbe desired to divide the distancebetween the first and last buttonholesto form a complete series of five, the carriage is locked in connectionwith the fifth stop` ofthe series and thereafter the stops are expandedby a suitable mechanism, whereby the materiall is drawn taut from itsconfined position under the needle, said material, together with thestops, being locked in this confined position. The number ofintermediate stops thus corresponds to the number of buttonholes to beworked in the `garment between the rst vand last buttonhole of theseries.'

The gripping carriage is also provided with an escapement means, wherebyafter each buttonhole is completed a manual release of the carriage froman opposing stop is effected and the goods is fed forward to aline thenext point at which a buttonhole is to be formed, the saidalinementbeing effected by engagement of the escapement means with the succeedingstop due to the goods being manually drawn from its free end toward thesewing machine mechanism. The release escapement having returned to itsposition of rest, will thereby lcome in contact with the succeeding stopof the series to effect the desired alinement and this operation isrepeated so on to complete the series of buttonholes with the exceptionof the last one, the position of which, as previously stated, is markedupon the goods. The material is thus released from the carriage and the`last buttonhole is formed in the ordinary manner due to the fact that itrequires no automatic stop mechanism to in# dicate its position. n

With the above objects in view the invention consists in certainpeculiarities of construction and combination of parts as hereinafterset forth with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequentlyclaimed.v j

In the drawings Figure 1 represents a front elevation of anadjustablastopgmechanism embodying the features of my invention, inwhich exemplification ofthe invention the same is shown attached to abutton-A hole stitching machine, with parts broken awav and parts insection to more clearly illustrate certain details of construction; Fig.2, an enlarged detailed cross-section of the gage mechanism, the sectionbeing indicated by line 2 2 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3, a fragmentaryelevation ofa part of the mechanism looking from the reverse ,side fromthat shown in Fig. 1 and showing in particular a gripping carriage andits associ-4 ated mechanism.

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' Referring by .characters tothe drawings,

l represents a tableor other suitable support upon which is mounted thebase 2 of abuttonhole stitching machine of any desired type. whichmachine forms no part of` my invention and is therefore diagrammati-.cally shown, the same being provided with machine is formed with ahub-socket 3 for the reception of one end of a guide-rod L1,

I the opposite end of which guide-rod is supf operated upon.

Slidably mounted upon the guide-rod el are a series of eared sleeves 7,the ears of which, for convenience, are provided with indicator marks 2to S inclusive, which marks indicate the maximum number of buttonholesthat can be worked in connection with the gage mechanism. It is manifestthat this number may be increased or diminished as the case may require.

Each sleeve carries a stop-pin 7, which stop-pins in this instanceextend through the sleeve-ears and form pivots for a series ofcross-connected links 8, the said series of links being also pivotallyconnected at their lower ends and at their intersecting points to forman expansible and contractible link movement of the lazy-tong type. rlhefirst link 8 of the series is fixedly pivotecl to the depending ear 6 ofthe carriage-rail. One of the intermediate lower pivot-studs 7 of thelink series is provided with an antifriction roller 8, which rollerengages a vertically disposed slot formed in an upturned foot 9 of anadjustable bar 9. This bar is .slidably mounted within clips 10, 10',which clips are supported by the table 1 and the foot end of the bar isalso supported by an anti-friction roller 9, which is adapted to rideupon the table. The under face of the Abar 9 is provided with a` seriesof rack teeth 9 which extend through a distance approximately equal tothe endwise movement that is imparted to the bar for the purpose ofadjustment to be hereinafter described, and the inner end of the thrustbar 9 terminates with an upwardly extended handle for convenience inmanipulating the said bar back and forth within its guides. By thisconnection with the series of hinged links it is obvious that when thebar is moved back or forth the sleeves 7 carrying the stop-pins 7 willbe moved equal distance apart throughout the l-ength of the guide-rodwithin a predetermined range.

After the bar has been shifted to position the stop-pins selectedldistances apart, the said stop-pins are locked by engagement of theteeth of the bar with the lower face of the clip 10, the said faceforming one wall of a slot through which the bar travels.

Thus the stop-pins are provided with means for predeterminedly adjustingthe same simultaneously to selected positions and are also provided withmeans for locking said stop-pins in their adjusted positions.

Mounted upon the rail 6, which rail is preferably T-shaped incross-section, is a slidable carriage B, the same being provided withdownturned feet that overlap the edges of the cross-web of the rail,whereby the carriage is confined. The carriage is provided with a fixedgripping jaw 11, which gripping jaw co-acts with a movable gripping jaw11, the latter being hinged to an ear 12 that projects 'upwardly fromthe base of the carriage. These jaws are spread apart by a coiled spring13, which coiled spring is inter-posed between the jaws and encircles alink 14, one end of the same being pivoted to the base of the carriageand the opposite end to the shank of a clamping lever 15. The shank ofthis clamping lever is also provided with an angled foot 15 so arrangedthat when the lever is swung to the position shown in Fig. 1, thegripping jaws are closed and when said lever is swung upwardly, thegripping jaws are spread apart by the interposed coiled'spring. The baseof the carriage is also provided with a pair of laterally extendedapertured ears 16 for the reception of a stud 17, which stud carries anescapement mechanism in the form of a lever 18 having a shoe 1Sthatisnormally held in a line of travel to engage the series ofstop-pins 7. The rear end of the shoe 18 is obliquely flared, whereby itwill automatically slide over the stop-pins when the carriage is shiftedfrom left to right with relation to the sewing machine, in whichdirection said carriage is moved by hand when the work is adjusted tothe machine. rl`he escapement lever 18 is normally held in a p0- sitionto abut the stop-pins 7 by a coiled spring 19, one end of which issecured to the stud 17, while the opposite end is secured to one of thestud-supporting ears 16.

From the foregoing description, with particular reference to Fig. 1 ofthe drawings, it will be understood that, in order to finish a series ofbuttonholes upon a garment, the stop-pins are first contracted or nestedtogether in a position uxtaposing the sewing machine head. If it isdesired, for example, to finish a series of five buttonholes, theforward end of the goods is clamped under the needle bar at a point uponwhich the first buttonhole is marked or indicated previously. The goodsis next clamped to the gripping carriage by manipulating the lever 15,whereby the teeth of the companion jaws 11, 11', are caused to grip thegoods at the point indicating the lastV buttonhole of the series. Thecarriage is then adjusted lupon its rail to a position where theescapement shoe will be engaged by that stop-pin which is marked 5. Theoperator then shifts the bar 9 from left to right until the goods A isdrawn taut, as shown in Fig. l, in which position the bar is locked inengagement with the clip 10 and the stop-pins between the sewing machineand stop-pin 5 will be spaced equal distances apart to correctlyposition the intermediate buttonholes of the series. After the iirstbuttonhole has been completed, the operator manually trips theescapement lever 1S and thereafter grasps the free end of the goods Aand draws the latter from right to left, whereby the carriage is causedto travel in the same direction until stopped by the pin marked 4, itbeing understood that the escapement lever has been released and ispositioned to engage said stop. Thus the carriage is moved forward stepby step and the series of buttonholes are completed by repeating theoperation until the last buttonhole is reached and, as stated, the goodsis then released from the carriage, whereby the final buttonhole, whichhas been previously arbitrarily marked, is completed upon the machine inthe usual manner.

I claim: v

l. An adjustable gage mechanism comprising a series of shiftable stops,a guide therefor, an eXpansible and contractible link mechanismconnecting the stops, a shiftable carriage arranged to travel inparallel rela-` tion to the stops, and means associated with thecarriage for releasable engagement with said stops.

2. A gage attachment for sewing machines, a series of stops, a guidetherefor, a series of cross-connected links attachable to the stops,means for anchoring the terminal link of the series, means associatedwith the mounted upon the guide-bar, a series of` cross-connected linksattached to the stops, means for securing that end linkof the seriesadjacent to the machine, an adjusting bar secured to one of the links ofsaid series, means for locking said bar in adjusted positions wherebythe stops are held at selective equal distances apart, a carriage inslidable union with the rail, an escapement mechanism carried by thecarriage for engagement with the stops, and material-gripping meanscarried by said carriage.

4. A sewing machine attachment comprising a series of link connectedstops, a carriage, an escapement mechanism extending from the carriageadapted to engage any one of the stops, means for increasing anddecreasing the distance apart of the stops with relation to each other,and means for lockingsaid stops in their-shifted positions.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand atManitowoc in the county of Manitowoc and State of Visconsin in thepresence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM M. BOENNING.

Witnesses:

FRANK HOFFMAN, JULIUs LINDs'rEDT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

